FLORENCE, S.C. — Florence City Council District 2 will have a new representative when Pat Gibson-Hye Moore’s term ends.
Moore, who has served as District 2 City Council representative since 2016, decided to not seek re-election.
The two candidates running to replace her are Kermit Moore and Lawrence “Chipper” Smith. They will face off in Tuesday’s Democrat Party primary. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.
An opponent hasn’t filed to run as a Republican. So Tuesday’s winner is likely to represent the district on the City Council.
City Council District 2 includes east Florence, about a third of north Florence and a small part of south Florence.
Moore is married to Pat Gibson-Hye Moore and they have a family of four adult children. He graduated from Wilson High School and Coker College, now Coker University. He was a long-distance trucker for 44 years before he retired in February. He previously served as vice president of the East Florence Community Organization.
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Smith is a 2011 graduate of Wilson High School and is the school’s baseball coach. He is a vice president at Smith Funeral Home in Florence. He graduated in 2016 from Gupton-Jones College of Mortuary Science and holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Smith is married to Alyssia. He is father to two children, Alyse Journi and James Lawrence Smith III.
Smith and Moore answered five questions submitted to them by the Morning News.
1 What will you do to bring gun violence and crime under control in Florence?
Moore: I will begin by creating more programs for our youth that can help keep them off the streets. Programs similar to what was once called JPTA (Job Training Partnership Act) and Camp FEVER (Fuel to Encourage a Victorious and Evolving Resurrection), which was an outdoor wilderness camp for at-risk youth hosted by the Florence Police Department and the Alliance for Youth. I will also encourage the city to begin a buyback program for illegal weapons along with giving amnesty to the individual returning the weapon. The amnesty program would allow the weapons to become part of the buyback program without the individual being worried about being arrested for possessing the weapon. I would also ask that the individual returning the illegal weapon also receive a stipend of an undermined amount.
Smith: I am a proponent of neighborhood watch, increasing patrols and finding a way to place more police hubs in our communities. All in all, the Florence community must come together to strategize and determine more ways to curb gun violence and deter crime. We need input from residents, elected officials, law enforcement, community leaders, etc. What works in one city may not work here in Florence. So, we need to come together to determine what will work in Florence.
2 What improvements would you like to see in Florence and your district?
Smith: I would like to see more recreational opportunities for not only the youth, but for citizens of all ages. I am also a proponent of beautification. I would like to see cleaner streets, adequate lighting in certain areas, improved parks and stormwater drainage system upkeep.
Moore: I’ll work to help formulate an ordinance to help reach and if necessary penalize those individuals who live out of state but own dilapidated homes and overgrown properties in Florence. Presently, they are sent letters repeatedly, but are not punished if they don’t respond. We can greatly improve the district I represent as well as Florence communities overall if we didn’t have so many abandoned properties. If the property owners don’t respond in a reasonable length of time, they should first get a monetary penalty attached to their property taxes and over a period of time the city should have the authority to condemn the property.
3 What can be done to create affordable housing while preserving established neighborhoods in Florence?
Moore: Home ownership is a key to generational wealth. It helps provide monetary gains that can help establish new businesses in areas of economic deprivation, help educate the community and its children as well as help individuals with their social skills and create productive citizens.
Smith: While it is important to raise the home ownership in our area, it is also important to look at preserving homes that are capable of being remodeled. These homes and neighborhoods have great historic value and truly tell the history of our community. There are plenty of programs and workshops for citizens to attend that will teach them about homeownership and financial literacy as a whole. But, we need to do a good job at disseminating program information to the residents. We also need to bring these workshops to our neighborhoods to ensure that our residents have full access to this information and opportunities.
4 How can the city attract more businesses and industries?
Smith: We lose so many Florentines to larger, more thriving cities. So, we need to look at ways to retain our young talent. Creating festivals is another way to attract more businesses and industry.
Moore: Businesses want to invest in cities with a young workforce. A city may not thrive with this missing demographic. Our city needs downtown theaters and art. We need more central areas where people can meet, relax and have fun. Many federal and national governments require cities to publish data on economic and social performance. If our city of Florence can present and provide businesses with good, concise information about economic performance, the well-being of the population and where entrepreneurs are located, we can more easily attract investment. We have to be able to tell a story — a story of education, employment and a breakdown of the labor market.
5 What are other key issues facing Florence that you want to address?
Moore: I would like to address the area of transportation because good transport connections have direct benefits to people, businesses, the environment and the overall economy. For example, good transportation can help people access jobs by widening their job search area and help them find and keep employment. I would also address homelessness. The city of Florence is experiencing an increase in the area of homelessness or houselessness. Key factors can include the lack of affordable housing, inadequate income, mental illness or the loss of a spouse or parent.
Smith: Violence, stormwater drainage, zoning and economic development.
